Now Arriving: A Passenger-Train Revival?

Private Freight Operator in Florida Takes a Gamble on a Rail and Property-Development Project, but Obstacles Remain

By

Eliot Brown

July 4, 2014 6:18 p.m. ET

The large cities that dot Florida's east coast were developed largely thanks to industrialist Henry Flagler, who in the late 19th century built a private railroad from Jacksonville to Miami, then profited by creating hotels and other properties that fed off the pipeline of travelers.

Now, more than a century later, a company that is a descendant of Mr. Flagler's empire is aiming to repeat history.